![]() Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley (April 27, 1951 – October 16, 2025) was an American musician who was the original lead guitarist, occasional lead vocalist, and founding member of the rock band Kiss. He invented the persona of The Spaceman (a.k.a. Space Ace) and originally played with the group from its inception in 1973 until his departure in 1982, before later rejoining.
After leaving Kiss in 1982, Frehley formed his own band, Frehley's Comet, and released two albums with the group. He also embarked on a solo career, which was put on hold when he rejoined Kiss in 1996 for a reunion tour. Frehley's second tenure with Kiss lasted until 2002, when he left at the conclusion of what was originally purported to be the band's farewell tour. Frehley's solo releases were commercially successful, with his 1978 debut album achieving platinum status. His most recent solo studio album, 10,000 Volts, was released in 2024.
On September 25, 2025, Frehley fell in his home studio twice and was forced to cancel upcoming tour dates. On October 16, 2025, TMZ reported that he had been on life support and a ventilator due to brain bleeding caused by his fall. They reported that his family considered removing him from life support after his health failed to improve. Frehley died several hours later in Morristown, New Jersey, at the age of 74.
His former Kiss bandmates Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons paid tribute in a joint statement, calling him an "essential and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative foundational chapters of the band and its history."
Frehley was noted for his aggressive, atmospheric, and melodic guitar playing, and for the use of many "special effects" guitars, including a Gibson Les Paul guitar that emitted smoke from its neck humbucker pickup and produced spinning pyrotechnics and a custom Les Paul that emitted light based on the tempo of a song. Frehley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 as a member of Kiss. Guitar World magazine ranked him as the 14th Greatest Metal Guitarist of All Time.
Studio Albums
Ace Frehley (1978)
Frehley's Comet (1987)
Second Sighting (1988)
Trouble Walkin' (1989)
Anomaly (2009)
Space Invader (2014)
Origins Vol. 1 (2016)
Spaceman (2018)
Origins Vol. 2 (2020)
10,000 Volts (2024) Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply. |
